Through The Rain
by BrightImpression
Summary: Can a war bring two people together? When two teenagers are thrown into the middle of a war between two major villages, their lives threaten to be turned upsidedown. First story, so comments are appreciated. AU, Lee X Original Character


Mmmkay… Hey everyone This is my first Fanfiction, so I can assure you that it's not going to be perfect. But I worked pretty hard on it, so I hope that you all like it. Comments would be appreciated, although you obviously don't have to if you don't want to…

**About**: Just a random fanfiction about Rock Lee and a made up character named Kaiylo. I know that Kaiylo isn't a really…realistic… name, but it's was one of the first things that popped into my head. This FF is based in an alternate universe where ninjutsu and genjutsu aren't used. It's pretty much like our world, except based some time ago, and everyone who lives there is extremely skilled with weapons. Think Tenten-esk. This story also takes place during the middle of a war between Konoha and an allied nation gone bad, although you don't really get to see this in the first chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, although I really wish that I did XD

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Kaiylo rubbed the back of her neck gently, calloused hands pressing at a quickly forming knot. The girl winced slightly as the lump resisted her massaging, the tender skin throbbing with pain from the kunai blow. Gritting her teeth and twirling around on the tip of her toes, the girl shot out a hand to deflect another advancing kunai, simultaneously leaping into the air to avoid the slash of a katana. Kaiylo retaliated, laughing slightly as her kick landed just short of the oncoming figure who had appeared with the sword. The girl's black eyes whipped around, taking in the rough clump of trees within leaping distance before sprinting off towards them. Dirty blonde hair whipped around her face, streaming behind her in a loose fashion.

_Almost there… almost there…_

Kaiylo shot into the nearest tree, grabbing a kunai out of her holster as she landed calmly on the highest branch. Taking aim with her deductive eyes, she wordlessly hurled the weapon at her opponent, frowning as it was easily flicked aside.

_I __didn't__ really want to use this, but it appears that I don't really have a choice._

Nodding solemnly to herself, the blonde gripped the hilt of her own katana, pulling the ornate sword out of its sheath. Crouching on the branch, Kaiylo positioned her legs underneath her, waiting for the opportune moment to spring. Just as she had found her opening, a loud voice called out from beneath her tree.

"That's good enough for today you two. I'd prefer if you didn't kill each other, so let's leave it at this."

Kaiylo frowned, attempting to mask her disappointment as she dropped noiselessly to the sod below. She had been so sure that she would win the sparring match this time. It wasn't so easy being the shy one at times. No one took you seriously. Kaiylo was beginning to doubt if her sensei even had faith in her. Sheathing her sword, she turned her obsidian eyes towards the man who had spoken, nodding her head respectfully in ascent. He grinned in return, reaching out a hand to ruffle the top of her head.

"Somebody's been improving. I wasn't expecting you to nearly kick him. I think that you shocked him into action."

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei."

Kaiylo glanced up at the masked man once more, curiosity pooling in her mind. Pulling several obstinate strands of hair away from her eyes, she turned towards another figure that was striding lazily towards them, apparently barely out of breath from the match. The girl resisted the nearly irresistible urge to scowl. She already knew what he was going to say to her – it never differed, no matter how well she had fared against him. The boy stepped into the shadow of the tree, revealing his indifferent expression that was barely visible through the coal tinted locks that hung over his eyes. Kaiylo bit her tongue, drawing a substantial amount of blood. He irked her to no end, even though her patience took quite a bit to try.

"Hn."

Kakashi raised a brow, clearly amused at how dispassionate his other pupil was, and the nearly unperceivable reaction it got out of Kaiylo. The fact that it got any reaction at all out of the girl was what truly fascinated him. She was comparable to a rock at times, unmoving, silent, and nearly oblivious to any verbal attack. The man turned his head towards the darkly clad boy, a slight sigh escaping his lips.

"Is that all you're going to say Sasuke? 'Hn' is rather… unremarkable."

Two eyes as dark as hers swept over Kaiylo's rigid figure, a smirk appearing on his lips before he turned to saunter away.

"An unremarkable response for an unremarkable performance. Entertain me next time shorty."

The blonde girl dug her thin fingernails into her palm, pitch eyes smoldering in annoyance at Sasuke's retort. She was getting sick of sparring with him. He really knew how to bring a person down. Not that Kaiylo needed anyone to do that for her. Her confidence level was already low enough. A frown returned to her face, clouding the girl's eyes with pain.

"If you'll excuse me Kakashi-sensei, I believe that I'm going to go beat up a tree."

The man's brows rose in a completely dumbfounded manner, obviously perplexed at his student's out-of-character behavior.

"I'll see you tomorrow Kaiylo."

A pair of tiny feet led the girl away, white sneakers beating a steady rhythm into the rain soaked ground. Her neck still ached like crazy from where the kunai had glanced her, although she didn't even bother to massage it. Like she had time to waste on such trivial things. Tendrils of honey colored hair fell over Kaiylo's face, draping her in a sea of gold before they were brushed back into place. Habitually, a pale hand rested upon the rather bland hilt of her katana, the other spindly arm swaying gently with her leisurely gait. With surprising intensity, black eyes scanned the nearby greenery, desperately searching for an acceptable tree to demolish. It was realized in the form of an overgrown stump, set far away from the main Konoha path. Without hesitation, Kaiylo removed her sword from its scabbard, raising it up so the thick metal blade flashed dizzyingly against the sun. With steady, practiced strokes, she set off at the tree, the sharp blade piercing the bark with subtle 'thunks'. With amounting precision, she increased her already alarming speed, stoically ignoring the searing pain that was beginning to well in her right shoulder.

_That __Sasuke__…How dare he just brush me aside like a piece of trash!_

Black eyes twinkled brilliantly as she hacked at the wood, prying large chips out of the mottled stump in pure rage as the girl began to torque, attacking from different positions. When the ferocious burning sensation in her right shoulder became too much to bear, Kaiylo paused momentarily, flicking her blade to an outstretched left hand.

_My left swing needs work anyways._

It didn't take long for the pent up frustration that had entranced the girl to subside. Without the distraction of exertion, a full-fledged wave of pain enveloped her, resulting in a bout of coughing. In a maddeningly syrupy state, Kaiylo pushed her katana back into the sheath, stepping back to survey her work. What remained of the once rather large stump was now an equally large and imposing pile of wood chips. With a slight smile plastered on her exhausted face, Kaiylo buckled to the ground against the wood heap, the entire right side of her body pressed firmly into the turf. Obsidian orbs blinked slowly, taking in the absurdly stormy skies that, despite their dark hue, refused to rain. This fact alone saddened the blonde immensely. Oddly contradicting her personality, a downpour was one of the few things certain to put Kaiylo in good spirits. A cool breeze whipped against her, tangling the fine strands of hair that framed the girl's heart-shaped face. Shivering at the unexpected gale, Kaiylo pulled her knees to her slight frame, hugging them in an attempt to get warm. Rain was one thing, frigid wind was quite another. Despite this, she was too exhausted and sore to even consider walking the winding road back to her house. Not completely beside the fact, the sun was beginning to set, casting a lovely reddish hue onto the surrounding area. Groaning slightly as she accepted this certainty, Kaiylo shifted herframe to a leaning position against the massive wood pile.

_Perhaps it couldn't hurt to get some sleep__At any __rate__ I'll feel rejuvenatedby the time morning comes._

Batting her pair ofonyx pools one last times, Kaiylo stifled a yawn, stretching into a comfortable sleeping position along the chip mound. Within a matter of minutes, the blonde was deep into her slumber, legs tucked in cozily about her.

XXXXX

Several long, dark hours passed, cloaking all of Konoha in a sheet of navy. A few adventurous stars peeked out from behind a fog bank, shining valiantly on into the night. Through the faint light, a lone silhouette made it's way carefully towards the pitiful remnants of the gnarled stump. Lithe legs strode forward in a rather energetic manner, almost as if it was difficult to keep at a quick walk. Stepping tentatively out of wooded area,the beaten stumpflickered into the figure's vision, producing a startled yelp.

"My stump! My beautiful, youthfulstump!"

Rushing towards the hunk of chips at an extraordinary clip, the boy who had spoken stepped out of the cloud-cast shadows, revealing himself. A torrent of tears began to stream down his semi-round face, emotion spilling out of two circular eyes as the boy reached out a green covered arm in the general direction of the wood pile. Coming to a screeching halt at the base of themound, he bent his tall frame to tenderly scoop up a pile of the wooden chips, eying them sadly as he held them in two bandage covered hands. The pair of eyes snapped suddenly to attention, focusing their intensity on a slight frame lying against the pile. With mounting curiosity, he strode slowly towards the figure, exhaling calmly upon the realization that it was only a girl close to his age.

'_A rather cute girl...'_

A light flush began to crawl up the back of his neck, ending at the base of his oddly cut black hair. Stooping over even more, the boy prodded Kaiylo in the arm, rolling back onto his heels as he patiently waiting for her to stir. After several moments had passed with no visible reaction from the blonde, he proceeded to grab her shoulders, gently shaking them. Quite certain that this method would rouse the sleeping girl, theboy swayed precariously to his feet, orbs still locked on her. The only notable difference was a barely audible snore. Sighing gently,he bent down towards Kaiylo, rolling the exhausted girl into his arms.

_'It's__ not as if I can leave her here... especially if the storm's heading in.'_

Throwing a compassionate look to the blonde in his arms, he trotted off in the direction of the Hokage tower, not completely sure what he would do when he got there.

XXXXX

Kaiylo blinked slowly to consciousnessas a raindrop hit her face, eyes dilating as they adjusted to the darkness that enveloped the area. Raising a hand to wipe away the drops that were accumulating above her eyes, she was surprised to realize that it had been pressed up against something not wood-like to the touch. It was warm... In a half-awake state, she rolled mechanically towards the source, burying her face in the crook of her arm. Quite content, and still in a drunken seeming condition from lackof sleep, it took the teenager several moments to comprehend the fact that she was moving.Kaiylo's obsidian eyes shot open, and she automatically punched out at the source of the movement with a curled fist. With a satisfying 'thwack', the person who had been carrying her dropped the girl unceremoniously to thedrenchedsoil before reeling back. Within moments, he followed her to the ground, his green cladbody plowing into earth. Kaiylo stared, alarmed at what had just happened, and more than somewhat dumbfounded. Her brain raced madly, attempting to fathom what had just occurred. And then there was the boy... Her gaze flickered to his face, solemnly noticing that she had knocked him out cold.

_'Perhaps I struck him a bit too hard...'_

Twisting her arms behind her, Kaiylo retrieved a small herb from her tan pouch, waving the pungent plant slowly over the boy's nose. He reacted immediately, sitting up with a perplexed look before his hand flew to his injured head,frantically rubbing at a growingbump. Kaiylo purposefully averted his eyes, ashamed that she had hit him. He looked no older than her...

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hit you so hard. I just kinda...reacted."

She glanced up quickly, expecting to receive a seething glare from the maimed boy. She had acted frivolouslyby acting before thinking, and wasprepared for the consequences. Kaiylo was taken aback when she was met with a wide, sheepish grin.

"I am completely at fault. I happened upon you around where I train, and I thought that it would be for the best if I took you back to civilization. A forest is no place for a lady to sleep." The boy turned hisface upwards, gazing intently at the cloud streaked skies."Especially when the weather forecast is bleak..."

As if on que, a roll of thunder broke out, causing the boy to flinch. Kaiylo just stared merrily at the morbid sky, smiling gently as a series of raindrops hit her face. The boy moved slightly, opening his mouth to speak.

"Might the lovelylady tell me her name?"

Kaiylo dropped her gaze to the boy, searching his face for even a miniscule amount of sarcasm. She was shocked to find none. Allowing her black pools to play across the ground, her timid nature took control, completely overwhelming her once more.

"I-I'm Kaiylo..."

Her eyes still rested on the ground, seemingly fascinated with a particular grain of sand. Mentally chiding herself for stuttering at such a slight thing, Kaiylo forced herself to look the boy in the eye. She had no reason to avoid him... Still grinning in the same fashion, he crossed his green and orange covered legs before replying.

"Kaiylo eh? That's a pretty name. I'm Rock Lee. It's a pleasure to meet you."

His introduction complete, Lee took her dainty hand in his, brushing his lips gently across it. Kaiylo stared in disbelief, amazed at what he was doing. Not one person that she had ever known had done something this sweet before. The blonde felt a deep flush rising up along her neck, crawling swiftly towards her ears. Before she could manage to choke out a response, Lee stood, lengthy appendages towering over the sitting Kaiylo. The girl twisted, desperate to see what he was looking at. A rain drenched Kakashi sat inthe groaning oak just to their left, staring with a bemused expression down at the two teenagers. The sodden earth beneath him gave as he landed upon it, tufts of grass crumpling beneath his feet.

"You would have no idea how difficult you two are to find in the rain..."

Something flashed in his visible eye momentarily before he took several sweeping strides towards Kaiylo and Lee, obviously intent on giving them an important tidbit of news.

"Kaiylo, Lee. Hokage-sama would like to speak with you. I believe it might be about the prospects of a mission."


End file.
